Removing Tulips After Flowering

They should turn dry and brown.

Removing tulips after flowering. Laura from garden answer demonstrates how to care for tulip bulbs so they come back year after year. About 6 weeks after your tulips bloom your plant may turn yellow or brown at the ends. What to do with potted tulip bulbs after flowering. Deadhead to prevent seed production and wait until foliage turns yellow before lifting the bulbs about six weeks after flowering if you need to lift earlier place in trays until the leaves become yellow and straw like.

The first step is to cut off the flowers but not the flower stalks of potted tulips. This keeps the tulip from creating a seed head but allows the foliage and stems to remain. When this happens you can trim the leaves. Pull bulbs once the leaves yellow and die.

The alternative to discarding old bulbs and replacing with new is to lift and dry the tulip bulbs after flowering. Wait for them to die which approximately takes 6 weeks. 2 wait until the tulip foliage yellows and dies before attempting to dig up the bulb. Once your tulips have flowered the first year they will never produce the same quality of flowers in the following year however they can still provide a welcome splash of spring colour once they have finished flowering remove the seed heads by cutting the flowering stems down then water the remaining leaves with a liquid fertilizer this will help build up the bulb for next year with most flowers that are produced from bulbs after flowering the foliage dies back and the energy in the plant is.

In this time the bulb is gathering the energy it needs from the sun in order to bloom in the next spring season. Either trim off only the brownish sections or cut the leaves at the base of the stem based on personal preference. Remove the leaves about 6 weeks after flowering. Cut the flower stem at the base with a sharp knife or snap it off by hand when the tulip flower fades.

As it does it is then safe to cut the tulips back completely to the ground. Continue to water and feed potted tulip until stalks become dry and shriveled. Once all the leaves have died you can dig the bulb from the ground or pot. After a week or two the remaining foliage will die back and slowly turn a yellowish brown color.